President Biden said on Friday that “it is not time to relax” coronavirus mitigation efforts and warned that the number of cases and hospitalizations could increase again as new variants of the virus emerge.
Why it matters: Biden, who made the comments after visiting a vaccination site in Houston, agreed with CDC director Rochelle Walensky, who said on Friday that, although the U.S. has seen a recent drop in cases and hospitalizations, “these falls follow the highest peak that we experienced in the pandemic. “
What they are saying: “We are watching this worrying data closely to see where it will go in the next few days. But it is important to remember where we are in the pandemic,” said Walensky.
- “Things are tenuous. Now is not the time to relax restrictions, ”he added.
- “I want to be clear: cases, hospital admissions and deaths remain very high, and the recent change in the pandemic must be taken extremely seriously.”
In turn, Biden said it “cases and hospitalizations may return as new variants appear. “
- “And this is no time to relax. We have to keep washing our hands, remain socially distant and, for God’s sake, wear your mask. It is not a political statement. It is a patriotic attitude ”.
The big picture: Walensky said the country is currently reporting a 7-day average of 66,350 cases of COVID-19 and 2,000 a day, a slight increase from the seven-day averages reported by the CDC earlier this week.
- “The most recent data suggest that these declines may be stopping, potentially stabilizing at an even very high number,” she said.
Go deeper: About 20% of American adults received the first dose of the vaccine, says the White House